Buckle



v- 1939- N. M. A. A. A. ALVAREZ ET AL 7 BUCKLE Filed Dec. 28, 1938 one 4 iavigl Patented Nov. 21, 1939 BUCKLE Nicolas Maria Angel Alberto Antonio Alvarez and Enrique Amadeo Viglione, Buenos Aires, Argentina Application December 28, 1938, Serial No. 248,124

In Argentina November 3, 1 938 g 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to buckles and the like fastening or securing devices and more particularly to buckles used for belts, straps,

I harness and the like, which comprise a frame 5 member, a cross-bar and a tongue mounted to turn about said cross-bar and adapted to be inserted into a hole provided in a belt or the like secured to said frame-member'or in a operating strap.

Heretofore such buckles have been constructed with their parts inseparably assembled and they have been attached to the belt, strap, harness part or the like by the aid of stitching or by means of rivets or the like securing means, so that the buckle and the belt member have been permanently united together.

Such permanent union between the buckle and the belt, strap, harness part or the like, has several disadvantages in practice. For example, if 20 for any reason, such as injury to the belt,.0r

to the buckle, it is 'found desirable to substitute new parts, it is necessary to undo the stitches or to remove the rivet, whereby the sound member of the assembly may suffer accidental in- 25 jury and in any event the troublesome operation of re-stitching or re-riveting'will have. to be carried out. A further disadvantage, which is particularly noticeable in connection with military equip- 30 ment, straps, harness and haulage fittings, when the metal parts, including the buckles, are required to be polished to give a good appearance, is that the polishing cannot readily be effected without leaving traces on the leather or the like 35 belting or other members to which the buckles are attached.

To overcome these difiiculties it has heretofore been proposed to secure the buckle to the belt or the like in a detachable manner, by

40 seating the buckle at a point some distance from the free end of the belt, doubling said free end back beneath the buckle as if for stitching, but securing it with the aid of arunner which is moved into close proximity with the buckle.

45 This method,however, is wasteful of belt material and gives an unduly bulky buckle-end of the belt. Moreover, the runner maybecome displaced and unless the leather or other belting material is stout, may thus allow the buckle to 50 become dislodged.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the diificulties and disadvantages inherent in known constructions in a simple, effective and comparatively cheap manner, by pro- 55 viding a buckle having in place of the integral cross-bar a removable pin which carries the tongue freely mounted thereon and the ends of which are detachably secured in mounting holes provided in the frame-member.

A further object of the present invention is to provide'abuckle comprising a frame-member having a pair of oppositely disposed frame portions rigidly connected together, a mounting hole in one of said frame portions extending transversely thereof, a. second mounting hole in the other of said frame portions in coaxial alignment with the first-mentioned mounting hole, a'pin adapted to be 'inserted in said holes. to bridge thesaid frame portions, a buckle tongue freely mounted on said pin and means for detachably securing said pin to said framemember.'

In a preferred construction,- the mounting holes; are formed in lugs which may be integral with; the frame portions and according to one embodiment the pin has at one end a head and. is screw-threaded at the other end to allow it v to be screwed into one of the mounting holes which for this purpose is provided with an internal screw-thread, whereas the other mounting hole is countersunk to provide a recess adapted toreceive the head of the pin.

In a preferred embodiment, the pin is formed without a head but has a shallow groove formed or out in the neighbourhood of one or both ends, said groove being adapted to cooperate with a resilient retaining member located in one or both of the lugs, to maintain the pin yieldably in position.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section of the undersideof a belt and buckle assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan-view of the underside of one embodiment of the buckle according to the present invention. I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section of the buckle of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 4 is a plan View partly in section of the under-side of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. ,jFig. 5'is a side view of the pin for the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, and

Figs. 6 and '7 are side views of resilient retaming-members suitable for the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2.

With particular reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, the improved buckle according to the present invention comprises a frame-member I,

having a pair of longitudinal members 2, 2

rigidly united by a cross-bar 3 and, in the example, shown by a second cross-bar 3 whereby the frame is given a substantially rectangular appearance. It is obvious however that the frame-member may have any desired contour, circular, oval, or fanciful, provided that it has a pair of frame portions 4, 4' disposedon opposite sides of the frame and that these frame portions are rigidly connected together. Thus in a circular frame two elements of are on diametrically opposite sides thereof will represent the frame portions and the remaining arcuate parts will represent the means rigidly connecting the said two elements of arc..

Said frame portions 4, 4 have formed in them mounting holes 5, 5 and for this purpose they are preferably thickened to form lugs 6,6. Said holes are adapted to receive the ends of a pin 1 on which is freely mounted a buckle tongue 8 and which, in the process of assembling the buckle and the belt or strap 9 to which it is to be attached, is passed through a loop l permanently formed on the buckle receiving end of the belt, as by folding over a portion of the belt and stitching it in the usual manner to the main body of the belt as indicated at H. To allow the buckle tongue 8 to be fitted, the loop in is cut away to form a centralopening as at l2.

In order to maintain'the pin 1 'in its assembled position retaining means are provided for detachably securing one or both ends of thepin to the frame portions 4, 4.

In the embodiment shown in the aforesaid figures, the securing means is constituted by a resilient member I3 secured in the/h1g6 was to be free to yield in a direction normal to the plane of the buckle on receiving'a transverse thrust from the pin 7. As best seen in Figs. 2, 3, 6 and '7, the resilient member is prefer'ablyformed of spring wire bent into a substantially U-shape with a projecting arm 14. The legs of the U may have outwardly bent portions IE "to facilitate the passage of the corresponding 'end of the pin. The lug 6 is'split'longitudinally as-at it to accommodate the-resilient member anda fixing hole I? is formed in the frame portion 4 to receive the projecting arm 14 which is forced into said hole I! or otherwise permanently-secured therein as by soldering, -or riveting over of the end of said projecting arm. 'The arrangement is suohthat thelegs' of theU extend across the mounting holed. In thisembodiment, the pin 1 has a groove l8 formed near one'end thereof, with which groove the legs ofthe Ll-shape resilient member are adapted to engage when the pin is in theassembled position. If .desired a resilient member may be provided in each of the lugs 6, E and in that event, the pin 1 will be grooved in the neighbourhoodof each end.

The buckle is assembled on the beltbypositioning the loop of the belt -9 between the frame portions i, holding the buckle tongue 8 in its position in the central opening l2, threading the pin through the mounting hole with its grooved end towards the lug 5', and causing the pin to pass through the loop ID, the eye of the the hole 5a is internally screw-threaded and the other mounting hole 51) is countersunk on the outside to form a recess i9 and the pin la is provided at one end with a head 20 having a saw-cut 2i and at the other end with a screwthread .22 adapted to engage with the internal thread of the hole 5a. The method of assembling this embodiment is essentially the same as for the other, save that the pin is screwed into retaining engagement with the lug ii.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the buckle improved according to the present invention may be secured to or detached from a belt, strap or the like without requiring the undoing of the loop of such belt or strap. The assembly is more reliable and less bulky than that obtained with known methods of detachably securing buckles to belts. Moreover, in the case of buckles of fanciful or special designs. the tongue or the frame may readily be changed with a minimum of trouble and with a certain saving in material.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the constructional details of the buckle may be varied without thereby departing from the nature and scope of the present invention. Thus, for example, more than one tongue may be provided and the design of the resilient retaining members may be modified.

We claim: i

A detachable buckle adapted to be secured to belts, straps, harness parts and the like, comprisinga frame having two oppositely disposed frame portions rigidly connected together, a lug on each frame portion extending normally to thezplane of thebuckle,.a mounting hole in each lug, at least one of said lugs being .split longitudinally, a fixing hole in the frame portion in the neighbourhood of the split, spring retaining means located in the said split, said spring retaining means being of substantially ,U-shape configuration and having .a projecting ,arm adapted to be permanently secured in said fixing hole, the legs of the U extending across part of the respective mounting hole,- a buckle tongue having an eye, and a pin adapted to pass freely through said eye and to be assembled with said frame portions in supporting engagement with the said mounting holes, said pin having in the neighbourhood of at least one end a groove adapted to receive the legs of the U-shape retaining means whereby detachably to secure saidpin to theframe member.

NICOLAS MARIA ANGEL ALBERTO ANTONIO ALVAREZ. ENRIQUE AMADEO VIGLIONE. 

